Home Movies (1944)

HOME MOVIES FOR MARCH • Figures fashioned from pipe-stem cleaners and corks are flexible, easy to manipulate, as in this scene from an animated movie filmed by one amateur. • Rag Dolls are one source of characters for animated movies. Eugene Fernette used them successfully in his 16mm. animated movie "Andy Saves the Princess." T OY dolls that walk, stuffed animals that roam about as though alive, toy cars and trains that move realistically over miniature highways — these and many other life-like activities of inanimate objects are easy to film by the amateur movie maker. The process of making inanimate objects move in a life-like manner on the screen is known as animation. Not all animation is by pen and ink drawings such as the familiar Donald Duck and other animated cartoons; George Pal's "Puppetoons" produced by Paramount Studios employ jointed figures or "dolls" and reallife scenery in miniature for sets. George Pal's startling "Puppetoons" have done more, perhaps, to re-kindle interest among amateurs for making this type of animated movie than any other medium. This is probably because few amateurs are skilled pen and ink artists, yet all have access to jointed dolls and figures and can readily manipulate them to achieve a measure of animated movement. Two things are essential to the success of an animated movie of jointed or movable figures: First, a camera that permits exposing a single frame at a time with equal exposure for each frame and, second, one or more jointed dolls or figures with arms, legs, and head sufficiently flexible to allow the most life-like adjustment of each member in EASY MIMTIOI WITH TOYS HI) DOLLS B y W a series of intermediate adjustments. A doll, for instance, with stiff legs and arms and permitting no movement of the head, will not produce the natural movement that otherwise may be had from a fully jointed figure that can be bent at the waist or whose arms bend at the elbow, its legs at the knees, and that may be adjusted to nod or shake its head. The careful selection of the jointed figure or figures is therefore essential to the most successful animation. Before war conditions restricted the manufacture of toys, there were many jointed dolls and animals to be had where toys were sold. These made ideal subjects for animated movies and many successful amateur films have been made employing them. The enterprising amateur bent on an animated movie will find other subjects well suited to his use. The amateur who produced the now famous 16mm. color movie, "Jello Again!" fashioned his miniature players from Jello boxes with rubber balls for heads, and feet and arms made of skewer sticks and small rubber tubing otherwise known as radio spaghetti. Another filmed a realistic boxing match with gladiators and referee made from flexible pipe stem cleaners. Heads, hands and feet were fashioned from corks. Eugene Fernette, whose article on filming "Dollytoons" appeared in the September 1943 issue of Home Movies, used Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy rag dolls obtained at a toy counter. These permitted widest possible adjustment of arms, legs and head in the intermediate steps of animation filming. Carl and Charlotte Anderson, of Los Angeles, in their 16mm. Kodachrome movie, "Vege-table-top Follies," used carrots, onions, bananas, etc., artistically painted and costumed, for their subjects. All this suggests to the novice anima• Continued on Page 120 • In animating a walking step, for example, the arms and body of a figure al:o should move to simulate life-like action as demonstrated in this animator's diagram of a complete cycle of movement of a figure executing a dance step. Each pose receives one or more frames exposure depending upon tempo. 105